Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Accounting of Forest Operations in FPInterface

Developed by FPInnovations, FPInterface is an operational-level simulation platform for forest supply activities from the harvest site to the mill gate. The software can model, simulate and optimize forest operations directly from the GIS planning maps. The analysis is done at the block level for a forest management unit and provides the cost and volumes of all products harvested from the selected blocks. The basic platform allows for cost calculations of harvesting, road construction, transport and regeneration. Additional modules are also available for optimizing transport routes, biomass supply flow and cost estimates, operational scheduling and value chain decisions. The software offers a tactical and operational forest planning tool in the context of Canadian forest operations. FPInterface considers all fossil fuel inputs and biomass outputs based on product specifications, harvesting decisions, equipment selection, road network and stand conditions. Therefore, the software offers an opportunity for the development of functionalities for greenhouse gas emissions accounts and carbon budgets for woody feedstock. The main objective of this paper is to describe the calculation of carbon ratio in a module of the FPInterface software. Furthermore, a scenario analysis was conducted, where the usability of the module was demonstrated. The objectives of the analysis were to show the impact of tree size on carbon emissions and to compare different supply chains for biomass in terms of carbon ratios. Keywords: carbon emissions, forest planning, logging operations, biomass, FPInterface. Received 28 September 2010, Revised 21 January 2013, Accepted 27 January 2013

Un modèle de gouvernance forestière autochtone ancré au territoire : analyse des conditions d’origine et du processus de cocréation dans le cas de la Nation micmac de Gespeg

Comme de nombreuses Premières Nations au Canada, la Nation micmac de Gespeg, une communauté autochtone sans territoire attribué, manifeste une volonté de réappropriation territoriale depuis plus de deux décennies. Localisée dans la région de Gaspé au Québec, elle s’implique activement dans le domaine forestier depuis un peu plus de 15 ans, plus particulièrement par l’entremise d’ententes de cogestion forestière en terre publique avec le gouvernement du Québec. Suivant une démarche partenariale et collaborative avec la Nation micmac de Gespeg, nous avons étudié, dans un premier temps, ses perceptions, ses besoins et ses attentes concernant son territoire forestier, ainsi qu’analysé son implication actuelle en foresterie. Puis, nous avons réalisé une démarche afin de réviser sa vision et ses objectifs concernant son projet forestier. Nous avons constaté la spécificité de ses attentes, plutôt culturelles et identitaires qu’économiques, et de ses objectifs fondés sur un projet territorial aux dimensions multiples. Ce constat a confirmé la pertinence d’explorer une gouvernance territoriale et forestière innovante et adaptée au contexte autochtone, soit le concept de forêt communautaire. Deuxièmement, pour comprendre le processus transformatif permettant d’atteindre les objectifs et de réaliser la vision de la Nation micmac de Gespeg, nous avons brossé un portrait de leur contexte socio-historique forestier, puis analysé leur cheminement en foresterie, plus particulièrement leur engagement dans laco gestion. Nous avons ensuite développé un cadre d’analyse de la gouvernance forestière, en identifiant plus particulièrement les conditions sur lesquelles la communauté peut agir pour concrétiser sa vision. Nous avons constaté que les engagements actuels et passés de la communauté en foresterie correspondent à des étapes préparant la transformation de la gouvernance de son territoire forestier ancestral. Ce cheminement stratégique circonscrit par le cadre gouvernemental en vigueur constitue un passage vers une gouvernance territoriale autochtone souhaitée par la Nation micmac de Gespeg. En cogestion avec des partenaires locaux, la communauté mig’maq y assume alors un rôle d’entrepreneur institutionnel. De ce fait, les Mi’gmaq de Gespeg exercent une fonction d’agent transformatif en agissant sur les conditions actionnables de la gouvernance des terres publiques vers l’atteinte de leur vision de gouvernance du territoire ancestral, soit la création d’une forêt communautaire. Toutefois, les constats de leurs engagements en foresterie, ainsi que les difficultés rencontrées pour mettre en œuvre leur forêt communautaire mettent en lumière la rationalité de la gouvernance du territoire public québécois. Cette rationalité gouvernementale s’exerçant sur les forêts publiques limite grandement les considérations pouvant être apportées à la satisfaction des besoins et des aspirations de groupes spécifiques. Ainsi, le régime de « gouvernementalité », suivant le terme de Michel Foucault, des terres publiques québécoises se fonde sur une conception unidimensionnelle de la population québécoise et une vision homogène du territoire et de l’économie. Cette perspective oriente les actions de gouvernement vers l’exploitation des ressources et du territoire en fonction du bien-être de la population québécoise en général. Les Autochtones se situent alors à la marge de l’exercice du pouvoir de l’État sur son territoire. Une foresterie autochtone menée à l’échelle locale confronte donc la mission des ministères responsables. De plus, la volonté autochtone d’adapter à sa vision le cadre de gestion de la forêt publique constitue un défi pour la foresterie scientifique, socle de l’aménagement forestier étatique. En somme, les revendications autochtones, comme le projet de forêt communautaire de Gespeg, appellent à la redéfinition du régime de gouvernementalité des terres publiques, tant dans sa conception de la population québécoise, sa vision du rôle des terres publiques que dans son système de connaissances.Like many First Nations in Canada, the Micmac Nation of Gespeg, an Aboriginal community with no assigned territory, has been demonstrating a willingness to reappropriate its territory for more than two decades. Located in the Gaspé region of Quebec, the Micmac Nation of Gespeg has been actively involved in the forestry sector for a little more than 15 years, particularly through forest co-management agreements on publicl and with the Quebec government. Following a partnership and collaborative approach with the Micmac Nation of Gespeg, we first studied its perceptions, needs and expectations regarding its forest territory, as well as analyzed its current involvement in forestry. Then, we carried out an approach in order to revise its vision and its objectives concerning its forestry project. We noted the specificity of its expectations, more cultural and identity-based than economic,and of its objectives based on a territorial project with multiple dimensions. This observation confirmed the relevance of exploring an innovative territorial and forest governance adapted to the aboriginal context, i.e. the concept of community forest. Secondly, in order to understand the transformative process allowing the objectives and vision of the Micmac Nation of Gespeg to be achieved, we drew a portrait of their socio-historical forestry context and then analyzed their path in forestry, more particularly their involvement in co-management. We then developed a framework for analyzing forest governance, identifying more specifically the conditions under which the community canact to achieve its vision. We found that the community's current and past commitments in forestry correspondto steps that prepare for the transformation of the governance of its ancestral forest territory. This strategicpath circumscribed by the governmental framework in force constitutes a passage towards the Aboriginal territorial governance desired by the Micmac Nation of Gespeg. In co-management with local partners, the Mig'maq community assumes an institutional entrepreneurial role. As a result, the Mi'gmaq of Gespeg exercisea transformative agent function by acting on the actionable conditions of the governance of public lands towards the achievement of their vision of governance of ancestral territory, i.e. the creation of a community forest. However, the observations of their forestry commitments, as well as the difficulties encountered in implementing their community forest, highlight the rationality of the governance of Quebec's public land. This governmental rationality exerted on public forests greatly limits the considerations that can be brought to the satisfaction of the needs and aspirations of specific groups. Thus, the system of "governmentality", to use according to Michel Foucault's term, of Québec's public lands is based on a one-dimensional conception of the Québec population and a homogeneous vision of the territory and the economy. This perspective directs government actions towards the exploitation of resources and territory based on the well-being of the Quebec population in general. Aboriginal people are then at the margin of the exercise of the State's power on its territory. An Aboriginal forestry conducted at the local level thus confronts the mission of the responsible ministries. Moreover, the Aboriginal will to adapt to its vision the management framework of the public forest constitutes a challenge for scientific forestry, the foundation of state forest management. In short, aboriginal claims, such as the Gespeg community forest project, call for the redefinition of the system of governmentality of public lands, as much in its conception of the Quebec population, its vision of the role of public lands as inits knowledge system

Improved resolution and signal-to-noise ratio in laser-ultrasonics by SAFT processing.

Laser-ultrasonics is an emerging nondestructive technique using lasers for the generation and detection of ultrasound which presents numerous advantages for industrial inspection. In this paper, the problem of detection by laser-ultrasonics of small defects within a material is addressed. Experimental results obtained with laser-ultrasonics are processed using the Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT), yielding improved flaw detectability and spatial resolution. Experiments have been performed on an aluminum sample with a contoured back surface and two flat-bottom holes. Practical interest of coupling SAFT to laser-ultrasonics is also discussed

Enseigner des valeurs à l'ordre collégial

Dans le contexte social et scolaire actuel, il existe une volonté de plus en plus grande des cégeps de donner un sens à la formation technique en enseignant les valeurs rattachées au métier, tout en faisant de la réussite des études une entreprise personnelle. À cet égard, un partenariat entre le Cégep Limoilou et l’Université Laval a permis de développer des activités pédagogiques concrètes pour l’enseignement de valeurs entrepreneuriales dans la formation technique. Cet article présente Ça me tient à cœur !, une activité élaborée en vue de l’acquisition de valeurs entrepreneuriales dans une perspective de développement durable. On y expose les visées de l’activité, les modalités de son déroulement et les résultats de son expérimentation en classe. Réalisée dans un programme technique spécifique, à savoir le programme de Technologie de la mécanique du bâtiment, l’activité présentée est néanmoins transférable à tout programme collégial dont les buts recouvrent le développement de valeurs ou la formation citoyenne. L’article évoque enfin trois autres activités visant le développement d’un système de valeur par les étudiants

Comparing polycentric configuration for adaptive governance within community forests: Case studies in Eastern North America

Looking at two cases of community forests (CF) in Eastern North America, this article examines their institutional features in order to assess whether they are conducive to adaptive governance. To do so, this article presents CFs as manifestations of polycentric governance, which allow identifying the complex networks of relations existing between different actors involved in governance at many scales. Polycentric governance is assumed to have a higher adaptability to changing factors. To better capture the variables conducive to adaptive governance in CFs, we draw on the socio-ecological system (SES) framework. The study shows that variables from the SES framework are useful in identifying features of polycentricity in CFs. Moreover, these variables highlight mechanisms of adaptability in CF governance, namely: interaction between organizations and actors, multiplicity of complementary rules from different organizations and structures of governance. Moreover, ongoing communication with the forest users and learning among actors appear key for CF governance’s adaptability

Heterodyne Detection of Ultrasound from Rough Surfaces Using a Double Phase Conjugate Mirror

Ultrasonic excitation of a solid sample (optically opaque) can be detected by directing a laser beam at one of its surfaces. Surface motion causes a transient phase shift upon the scattered light, which has to be demodulated into an intensity variation prior to its detection by a photodetector. Classical reference beam interferometry (homodyne or heterodyne) is a well-known technique for performing this demodulation. It is characterized by a broad detection bandwidth, but is, following the antenna theorem [1], essentially limited to the detection of one speckle, when used on rough surfaces. In order to circumvent this limitation (i.e., in order to increase the étendue of the interferometer), two different approaches for adapting the signal and reference wavefronts have been considered. The first approach proceeds by creating a reference beam that matched the wavefront of the signal beam. This can be done by using a Fabry-Pérot (FP) [2] which is a self-reference interferometer and means that the reference beam is generated by the signal beam. It can also be done by using two-wave mixing (TWM) in a photorefractive crystal [3,4]. In this case, the reference beam is created by the diffraction of a plane wave pump beam by the hologram written by both pump and signal beams. Alternatively the signal beam wavefront can be adapted to the reference wavefront, which requires, since the reference beam can usually be approximated by a plane wave, the transformation of the speckled beam to a beam with a plane wavefront. Devices using externally pumped [5] or self-pumped phase conjugate mirrors (SPCM) [6] have been reported

Teaching values at the college level

BibliographieWebographi

A value-based comparison of the management of ambulatory respiratory diseases in walk-in clinics, primary care practices, and emergency departments : protocol for a multicenter prospective cohort study

Background: In Canada, 30%-60% of patients presenting to emergency departments are ambulatory. This category has been labeled as a source of emergency department overuse. Acting on the presumption that primary care practices and walk-in clinics offer equivalent care at a lower cost, governments have invested massively in improving access to these alternative settings in the hope that patients would present there instead when possible, thereby reducing the load on emergency departments. Data in support of this approach remain scarce and equivocal. Objective: The aim of this study is to compare the value of care received in emergency departments, walk-in clinics, and primary care practices by ambulatory patients with upper respiratory tract infection, sinusitis, otitis media, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, influenza-like illness, pneumonia, acute asthma, or acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods: A multicenter prospective cohort study will be performed in Ontario and Québec. In phase 1, a time-driven activity-based costing method will be applied at each of the 15 study sites. This method uses time as a cost driver to allocate direct costs (eg, medication), consumable expenditures (eg, needles), overhead costs (eg, building maintenance), and physician charges to patient care. Thus, the cost of a care episode will be proportional to the time spent receiving the care. At the end of this phase, a list of care process costs will be generated and used to calculate the cost of each consultation during phase 2, in which a prospective cohort of patients will be monitored to compare the care received in each setting. Patients aged 18 years and older, ambulatory throughout the care episode, and discharged to home with one of the aforementioned targeted diagnoses will be considered. The estimated sample size is 1485 patients. The 3 types of care settings will be compared on the basis of primary outcomes in terms of the proportion of return visits to any site 3 and 7 days after the initial visit and the mean cost of care. The secondary outcomes measured will include scores on patient-reported outcome and experience measures and mean costs borne wholly by patients. We will use multilevel generalized linear models to compare the care settings and an overlap weights approach to adjust for confounding factors related to age, sex, gender, ethnicity, comorbidities, registration with a family physician, socioeconomic status, and severity of illness. Results: Phase 1 will begin in 2021 and phase 2, in 2023. The results will be available in 2025. Conclusions: The end point of our program will be for deciders, patients, and care providers to be able to determine the most appropriate care setting for the management of ambulatory emergency respiratory conditions, based on the quality and cost of care associated with each alternative